Harlan junior Haley Middleton lives at the Baptist Campus Ministry.

Literally.

Middleton resides in the BCM apartment with three other roommates: Melissa, Tiffany and Torrey. The women do janitorial work to stay there for free.

“I needed something that would cut cost for me and my parents,” she said. “I love free housing. It is a super amazing blessing from God.”

Sharing a two-bedroom apartment in the BCM was convenient because she said she would live there anyway. Her passion for God and bringing His word to others began as a young girl in Mexico.

She moved to Mexico at age 10, when her parents applied for New Tribes Missions, a group of missionaries around the country that minister to indigenous tribes, who are not familiar with Christianity.

“There are a lot of Indian tribes in Mexico that people don’t know about,” she said. “They have never heard of Jesus, ever. They have access to everything else in America. It is their job to bring the word to them.”

Middleton’s parents, Harold and Sue, still live in Chihuahua, Mexico and work closely with tribes of the country. Middleton visits them during winter and summer breaks and keeps in constant contact.

While her parents worked with translating the Bible into tribal language, Middleton found her own way to teach the word. She began helping at an orphanage, Lilly of the Valley. It opened her eyes to the human need for love.

The orphanage was in charge of 130 children and had a staff of seven. Middleton helped by cleaning the facility and “loving on the kids.”

“It was great for the kids to have a constant face and I loved to be that for them,” she said.

The children sent to the orphanage suffered from substance abuse. Some of the children were as young as 5.

“Little kids were sent there for sniffing glue,” she said. “It was crazy. There was an entire room where there were 40 little boys (the youngest was 6) gathered and took an AA class.”

Middleton brought her experiences from Mexico to Western when she decided to go to a school close to her extended family. She spends shorter breaks with her granny in Harlan.

Middleton leads a praise band for the BCM and a Monday night Bible study for sophomore women. Her passion for God and compassion for people are the things that make her a great leader for the younger students of the organization, Campus Minister Tommy Johnson said.

“She uses her musical gifts to point beyond herself and guide the worship to God,” Johnson said. “She has a passion for reflecting and taking those gifts and giving them back to God.”

Middleton has played the guitar for seven years. She also loves to sing. Her father and a few people in Mexico taught her worship songs. She uses it as a way of communication for her faith.

“Music has a lot of influence,” she said. “It is a big part of communication and worship is a branch of that. Through music, I show who He is and I am blessed to have that talent.”

Middelton’s sister, freshman Kelsey Middleton, looks up to her sister for guidance as a new student on campus. She said there were many options her sister could have taken when she first came to school, but chose a life of God instead of other things.

“When she came here she was alone,” Kelsey said. “Instead of turning to other things, she turned to God because she knew the truth was the only way.”

Reach Jill Erwin at diversions@chherald.com.